Blog: Rebels notch 100-64 win at home against Air Force

By Taylor Bern

Published Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016 | 6 p.m.

Updated Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016 | 10:52 p.m.

UNLV 100, Air Force 64

Game over

UNLV dominated from the start of this game until the end, moving to 2-0 under interim coach Todd Simon with a 100-64 victory against Air Force at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Rebels return to action Tuesday at Utah State.

Freshman Derrick Jones Jr. led the way with 22 points and 10 rebounds, the second double-double of his career and first against a Division I team. Senior Jerome Seagears went 5-for-5 on 3-point attempts, finishing with 17 points, while freshman Stephen Zimmerman Jr. posted another double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

The Rebels (11-7, 2-3) shot 50 percent from the field and controlled the entire game, including a ludicrous 52-20 rebounding advantage that helped them score 26 second-chance points. Basically, everything that could go right did tonight for UNLV.

Check lasvegassun.com later tonight for a full report from the Rebels' victory.

The Rebels are big favorites tonight at home, and if they turn in another performance like Tuesday’s win against New Mexico they will head back on the road confident that they fixed the issues that led to their 0-3 Mountain West start.

UNLV (10-7, 1-3) tips off at 7 against Air Force (10-7, 1-3) in the Thomas & Mack Center on ESPN3. The Rebels are 16-point favorites against the Falcons, whose lone league victory is against San Jose State.

The Rebels are coming off one of their most complete victories of the season, and since it came in interim coach Todd Simon’s debut it has many excited about what the rest of this season could be. Whether that was more of the exception or the rule, we’ll start to find out tonight before they head on the road next week for games at Utah State and UNR.

Tonight’s game should be completely chaotic, and if it is it will be an easy UNLV victory. Simon has talked about running more and more full-court pressure, and any transition possession is a positive for the Rebels because even if they give up some easy baskets it means grabbing the ball and going.

The more possessions the better, which is true for most UNLV games but especially against a team like Air Force that needs to slow things down. The Falcons need this to be a half-court game, and the Rebels want it to be anything but that.

Prediction: This could easily end up as a 30-point Rebel victory, but I’ll stay conservative. UNLV 79, Air Force 65

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.